St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-07


spill the gore of its antagonists upon the
diamond. That the contest for the pennant
will be magnificent one there seems to be
no reason to doubt, and a prediction at this
time regarding the standing of the clubs Oh
the 1st of October would be a waste of
space. There are two new teams, new lnen
without number, and, what is more I'M
portant than either, new playing rules. The
latter are a complete enigma. n test has
been made OF them except i'll game or two
! in New Or leans and two or three in Cali
fOrnia. so they are really new TO both
players and public. Foutz, the crack
pitcher of the st. Louis Browns, has con-
tested game or two under the rules, and
says he believes them to be
A FAILURE.
Half a dozen other pitchers have ex-
pressed the same opinion, but this evidence
must be taken with grain of Salt-it was
intended by those who made the rules to
give the batter better chance to hit the
ball. The tielders will have more work. to
be sure, but brilliant players will not object
to extra opportunities for the display of
their abilities. and the grand stand will be
apt to be pleased at the multiplication of
its chances for manifestations of delight or
disgust. The hasty conclusions arrived at
should not be accepted. A thorough test
may prove that the rules of 1887, with a
little modification or amplification, are an
improvement upon the old. The North
western league teams. judged by the new
standard, which itself has not been judged,
are therefore as much conundrum as the
rules themselves. The impression is pretty
general however, that Oshkosh will open
the season with stronger team than any
of its competitors. Most of its players are
the flower of the old league. among them
Burdick, Nagle, Doran, Shafer, Legg and
Roche, all men who pick up ball atield in
the most approved fashion, and bat in q
manner to discourage the average pitcher.
They are
VERY DANGEROUS RIVALS
under any rules. Since st. Paul has secured
ali undisputed title to Sowders, its stock has
risen 100 per cent. Its tried players are
numerous. Murphy, Wilmot, Cleveland,
Pickett and Crooks are splendid fielders,
and their record with the willow is not re-
membered to their detriment. Viau, the
new pitcher, comes heralded as phenome
non. All the other teams are composed
mainly of men new to this league. Many of
these, however. are men of wide reputation
upon the diamond. Manager Hart, OF Mil
waukee. has what is believed to be most
formidable aggregation. Duluth'S team is
again in the hands of Lucas. who last
season led his men to victory. He has only
two or three of his old men, but he has re-
placed the old players in most cases with
better ones. He has the prestige of triumph
also to bolster him. Of the Minneapolis,
Eau Claire, Des Moines and La Crosse
teams, as whole, nothing of value can be
said othel than that they are in no case an
aggregation of weakness. Under the old
condition of things the teams would proba-
bly, rank about thus: Oshkosh, ST. Paul,
Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Duluth, Des
Moines, Eau Claire. La Crosse.
WORTHLESS SECRETARY.
The league promises to have successful
season. There is, however, one serious
drawback. about which the GLOBE feels
impelled to speak briefly. The secretary
of the league of 1856 was pronounced
failure, and why he was inflicted upon the
new organization is yet unexplained. A
young man, fully competent, wanted the
position, but he was shelved by making
him president and the brilliant but phleg-
matte secretary of 1886 was again given the
only salaried Office i'll the league. This
man has shown by his work that he is
totally out of place in all Office which re-
quires activity and accuracy. 1t was
impossible at any time last season. or for
months after its close, to get the standing
OF the teams and their individual members
During the months of August and Septem-
Der he was several times tele-
graphed for information upon the
standing of sthe teams, but the
few answers he ldeigned to make were so
far wide of correctness as to be ridiculous.
At the close of the base ball year. the time
for the making up of the averages. the only
answer made to queries was that Minneap-
oils and Eau Claire had failed to send in
reports Minneapolis had actually sent in
but fourteen of the games played OH its
home grounds. but there is no evidence that
this secretary made any stir to secure these
reports. 1t would appear that he simply
accepted what came to him. and made no
effort to fill the aching void in his office
He was secretary only in name, and this
paper wishes to express its regret that he
should again be given position for which
he has over and over again proved himself
ipoomnptQDt